I have this large bed at the front of my house. Its filled with ivy. I kind of liked that when I first moved in here last summer but over the fall and winter it has kind of become an eyesore. Im wondering if i should get rid of it and replace with some low shrubs and other plantings or keep it and clean it up. It gets very little sun during the summer because of the trees above so that will limit me on what I can replace it with. I seem to keep coming up with reasons to get rid of it but I actually like the look of ivy so im kind of torn about this.
My pros for it are:
-its kind of good looking as long as its clean.
-its green and full all year round
-grows fast and covers the ground good
My cons for it are:
-full of leaves from above trees
...»
-seedlings keep popping up
-constantly have to trim it
-harbors bugs and other critters right up against the house
Check out my pics below and let me know what you think.
Thanks!
There are many landscape/garden designers that will come out and do an on-site consultation to aid in designing an area, and will even provide a simple sketch of what to plant where. This cost for a small area like a foundation planting may only cost $150-$200. The homeowner can then handle the plantings themselves at no extra cost or fee to the professional. ...»
While some may say that this seems expensive, anyone can quickly spend and lose $150-$200 in the wrong plants that are purchased to put into the area. Sometimes, it is even that a homeowner may unknowingly put too many plants in the area, which is also spending extra money. A knowledgeable professional will be able to provide the recommendations to give you the best success for your situation, hopefully without spending money on the trial and error. There are even circumstances where different varieties/cultivars of the same plant will perform very differently. The professional may be able to steer you away from ones that will cause a problem, and in the future forcing you to spend more money to replace them.
If you visit a nicer retail nursery/garden center, the cost of the professional is equal to as few as 2-3 plants if you assume a nice 7 gallon plant and a handful of 3 gallons.
The major expense is in hiring out the work to be done, which is where may homeowners enjoy doing the work and saving money.
However, your patch is so small and planting time is so near, I think you should remove it by hand. Cultivators Design (above) has good ideas for adding plants. I agree with Trillium that the crape should go.
Korean Dogwood (Cornus kousa) white blooms appear after the leaves emerge. Something interesting after the normal dogwoods are finished. ...»
Two-winged silverbell (Halesia diptera)
Serviceberry (Amelanchier x grandiflore Autumn Brilliance)
Very nice for size and structure and is a little different.
CP
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/hehe1.h...
BTW...I moved the Crepe...parred it down to about a 3 foot stump, dug up the whole rootball and moved it to a sunnier place. It has already recovered and produced new limbs. Still havent decided on what im going to put in this bed yet though.
Here is an example, using the Round-Up QuikPro, the label reads 73.3% Glyphosate, 2.9% Diquat dibromide, and 23.8% other ingredients. The other ingredients are carriers which are usually added to make mixing the chemical easier. QuikPro is mixed at 1.5 ounces per gallon of water. Even though the % of glyphosate is high in the bottle, you mix very little with each gallon.
On the other hand, you can buy Round-Up Concentrate Plus which reads 18% glyphosate, 0.73% Diquat dibromide, and 81.27% other ingredients. You mix this version at 6 ounces per gallon of water.
So if you do the math, since you put 4 times the amount of the Concentrate Plus into each gallon of water, you are effectively applying the same amount of Glyphosate when you spray. You put 4 times the 18% Concentrate Plus in the water, which is nearly identical to the 72% of the QuikPro. The difference is that you are purchasing a higher concentration with one version, and diluting it more when mixed. But the final outcome is that Glyphosate is Glyphosate and the application rate is the same. There is no need to over mix it either, as the suggested ratio is what is needed to kill the target weed/pest/grass. Adding more ounces per gallon is just wasting money.
Always read the label.
If you buy the Ready to Use Round-Up, the package is ready to spray, no water added, it is 2% per gallon.
Therefore, the pre-mixed Round-Up is done at a higher concentration than our 73.3% Round-Up QuikPro